Tuesday 20 January 2009

AND GOD SAID, "LET THE WATER TEEM WITH LIVING CREATURES..."

On Wednesday my brother, Dad and I went deep sea fishing at a little beach near the base. Simon has a local friend here, Robert, who invited us to use his boat for the morning. He said the earlier we left to go fishing the better because the brighter the sun got the less likely it would be for us to catch fish. We left at 5 am, but PNG being the way it is, we were not in the water until after 7 am. I was so excited, more about the possibility of snorkeling at an untouched reef than catching fish but nonetheless I was still excited. In the photograph below you can see our local volcano creating the perfect setting for the beautiful sunrise (although, in PNG the sunrise/sets are nowhere near as lovely as the African ones, just and observation). 

The catch of the day was a 10lb Spanish Mackerel. Most of the time our lines just got caught on the reef below. We fished at reefs that none of us had been to before. The ones further out are the most beautiful, the water is like glass so you can see the fish swim right by you. When you reach the lagoon's the colours are breathtaking. I couldn't believe it. 
Robert decided to take us to the "drop off". At this point I got a little nervous, the only time i had ever heard of a "drop off" was in finding nemo when he falls off the edge into the unknown. When we got there I realised it was just the edge of the reef but it was beautiful. You could just see the clear blue water of the lagoon turn to black as the reef disappeared and the only thing now below us was hundreds of feet of sea. We anchored to the reef and used banana leaves to tie reef rocks to our hooks. This is what the locals use as weights to make sure their line reaches the depths. 

We had a brilliant morning. I could have filmed a whole BBC planet earth documentary on the wildlife, it was that beautiful. Between finding nemo and fish that can fly (they are real), I think it would have been a pretty good episode. David Attenborough better watch his back. 

Wish you could have seen it in real life.

Love

Emma x
 









2 comments:

Claire said...

the pictures are class...i saw some of those flying fish in africa as well. amazing! i liked them better than the whales. x

Amanda said...

Hi Emma

You seem to be having the time of your life and some experiences. The waters sound so beautiful, the blue lagoon and some size of fish you all caught. It's good that you have someone now your own age with you for company. You have the best of both worlds with having the complex, your brother and family there.
Thinking and praying for you. Gods good. xoxo Amanda